The present invention relates to a gripper for grasping objects and, more particularly, to a sealed gripper for holding work pieces in adverse environments.
Grippers are commonly used in conjunction with robots in industrial applications for picking, placing and fixturing work pieces during the various steps of manufacturing a final component. Typical grippers include pneumatically or hydraulically actuated cylinders which cause one or more arms to move through a desired range of motion to grasp a work piece.
Unfortunately, when a mechanism such as a gripper is to be sealed to prevent ingress of contamination, one or more design features is often compromised. Specifically, a sealed mechanism is usually much larger than its unsealed counterpart due to the requirement of internal levers, cams and seals. Additionally, in the case of the gripper, it is difficult to seal counter-rotating hubs without increasing the size of the overall packaging envelope.
In accordance with the present invention, a gripper includes a body and an actuator coupled to the body. In another aspect of the present invention, the gripper further includes a first hub rotatably mounted to the body where the first hub is drivingly engaged with the actuator. A further aspect of the present invention provides a second hub axially aligned with the first hub and selectively drivingly engaged with the actuator. In yet another aspect of the present invention, the second hub rotates in a direction opposite to the first hub. In yet another aspect of the present invention, a first arm is coupled to the first hub and a second arm is coupled to the second hub. In yet another aspect of the present invention, the first and second arms are movable from an open position to a closed position in contact with each other. The present invention provides a balanced gripper having a mirrored opposite mount design. Additionally, piston force is distributed over two or more rods thereby reducing cocking and the possibility of jamming. The nested shaft, link and hub arrangement allows for compact packaging and reduced mechanical movement of components.